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Title: Equipment serving to connect oil-tankers to marine towers
Claims: What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus for connecting a petroleum-oil supply line mounted on a marine column to a received conduit mounted on an oil-tanker, comprising: a rotary head mounted on said column and rotatable about the axis thereof; a boom mounted on said head and extending radially therefrom; a hose-pipe connected at its upstream end to said oil-supply line of said column; a connector member provided at the downstream end of said hose-pipe adapted to be coupled to said receiver conduit on said oil tanker; a mooring hawser connected at one end to storage means provided on said head and adapted to be connected at its other end to said oil-tanker to be loaded; and a hose-pipe storage pulley rotatably mounted on said head for receiving and storing a predetermined length of said hose-pipe, said hose-pipe being in its stored condition wound around said pulley and supported by said boom with only substantially said connector member extending from the free end of said boom, said boom including low friction hose-pipe guide means for guiding and supporting said hose-pipe, said pulley having a single circumferential hose receiving groove the width of which corresponds substantially to the diameter of said hose-pipe, and said pulley having a diameter adapted for storing in said single circumferential groove a length of said hose-pipe corresponding to the length of the hose-pipe in its working condition between said free end of said boom and the inlet of said receiver conduit. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for constantly and resiliently urging said pulley in a direction tending to move said hose-pipe into said column head. 3. An equipment according to claim 1, wherein said boom is inclined with respect to the sea level so that the free end thereof is higher relative to sea level than the end thereof which is connected to said head, the axis of said pulley being stationary and extending substantially perpendicularly to at least the axis of the end of said boom connected to said head and the connection between the upstream end of said hose-pipe wound on said pulley and said oil-supply line of said column is provided, successively, by two rotary joints the axes of which correspond respectively to that of said pulley and to that of said column head. 4. Apparatus for connecting a petroleum-oil supply line mounted on a marine column to a receiver conduit mounted on an oil-tanker, comprising: a rotary head mounted on said column and rotatable about the axis thereof; a boom mounted on said head and extending radially therefrom; a flexible hose-pipe connected at its upstream end to said oil-supply line of said column; a connector member being provided at the downstream end of said hose-pipe adapted to be coupled to said receiver conduit on said oil-tanker, a mooring hawser connected at one end to storage means provided on said head and adapted to be connected at its other end to said oil-tanker to be loaded; and a hose-pipe storage pulley rotatably mounted on said head for receiving and storing a predetermined length of said hose-pipe, said hose-pipe being in its stored condition partially wound around said pulley and extending along said boom and supported thereby so that only said connector member extends from the free end of said boom, said boom including low friction hose-pipe guide means for guiding and supporting said hose-pipe, said hose-pipe storage pulley having a single circumferential hose receiving groove having a groove width corresponding substantially to the diameter of said hose-pipe, and said pulley having a diameter adapted for storing in said single circumferential groove a length of said hose-pipe corresponding to the length of said hose-pipe in its working condition between said free end of said boom and the inlet of said receiver conduit, the downstream end of said hawser being attached to the downstream end of said hose-pipe and being provided with an eye at its point of attachment to the latter, and a rope being provided one end of which is wound on an actuating drum provided on said head, said rope being adapted to pass through said eye and carrying at its other end and a locating float, said rope being provided at a portion thereof between said drum and said eye, at a distance from said float corresponding to the maximum distance selected for the beginning of the tanker mooring operations, said rope having a cross-bar having a dimension sufficiently large to engage said eye, said float being adapted to bring said hose-pipe and said hawser to said tanker. 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said drum is remotely operable from said tanker to be moored to move said float between a position wherein it floats on the sea level and a position where it is held in the proximity of said eye, suspended therefrom. Other info: Inventors: Tuson, Samuel (Mesnil-le-Roi, FR) Application Number: 841484 Filing Date: 1977-10-12 Publication_date: 1980-02-26 Assignee: Entreprise d'Equipements Mecaniques et Hydrauliques E.M.H. (FR) Primary Class(es): 141/387 137/355.26, 137/615 Other Classes: US Patent Ref:
Other Refs:
Primary Examiner: Schwadron, Martin P. Assistant Examiner: Chambers, A. Michael Attorney: Steinberg and Blake |
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